Steffen spurns UEFA honour

Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) Football Club is located in North London. The club is also known as Spurs. Tottenham's home ground is White Hart Lane. The club motto is Audere est Facere (To dare is to do).

Steffen Freund has revealed that he turned down a VIP trip to Wednesday&#39;s UEFA Cup final in order to dedicate as much time as possible to getting fit before the end of the campaign.&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;SPAN style&#61;&#34;FONT-SIZE&#58; 12pt&#59; mso-bidi-font-size&#58; 10.0pt&#34;&#62;&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;P&#62;Steffen was asked by the German Football Association, the DFB, to be Guest of Honour at the showpiece final between Liverpool and Alaves staged in Dortmund &#38;mdash&#59; his former stomping ground.&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;SPAN style&#61;&#34;FONT-SIZE&#58; 12pt&#59; mso-bidi-font-size&#58; 10.0pt&#34;&#62;&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;P&#62;Our midfielder admitted that he would very much have liked to be presented to the two teams ahead of the match, particularly as Liverpool are almost certain to name at least two of his countrymen in their starting line-up.&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;SPAN style&#61;&#34;FONT-SIZE&#58; 12pt&#59; mso-bidi-font-size&#58; 10.0pt&#34;&#62;&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;P&#62;But, being the ultimate professional, Steffen viewed it as far more important to stick around at Spurs Lodge and put himself into contention for the Manchester United game &#38;mdash&#59; even if he doesn&#38;rsquo&#59;t make it.&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;SPAN style&#61;&#34;FONT-SIZE&#58; 12pt&#59; mso-bidi-font-size&#58; 10.0pt&#34;&#62;&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;P&#62;&#38;ldquo&#59;It would have been great,&#38;rdquo&#59; reflected Steffen. &#38;ldquo&#59;But it would have meant being away for three or four days. The DFB asked me to be Guest of Honour and I had to say no. It is far more important to me to get fit for the end of the season &#38;mdash&#59; it is not good to take injuries into the summer break.&#38;rdquo&#59;&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;SPAN style&#61;&#34;FONT-SIZE&#58; 12pt&#59; mso-bidi-font-size&#58; 10.0pt&#34;&#62;&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;P&#62;Steffen, who is back in training with the first team and happy with his progress, is in no doubt as to which team he wishes to succeed in Dortmund.&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;SPAN style&#61;&#34;FONT-SIZE&#58; 12pt&#59; mso-bidi-font-size&#58; 10.0pt&#34;&#62;&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;P&#62;&#38;ldquo&#59;I really hope Liverpool win. It will mean an extremely successful season for them and it would be good for English football.&#38;rdquo&#59;&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;SPAN style&#61;&#34;FONT-SIZE&#58; 12pt&#59; mso-bidi-font-size&#58; 10.0pt&#34;&#62;&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;P&#62;&#60;I&#62;By Richard Hubbard&#60;&#47;I&#62;&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;&#60;P&#62;&#60;SPAN style&#61;&#34;FONT-SIZE&#58; 12pt&#59; mso-bidi-font-size&#58; 10.0pt&#34;&#62;&#38;nbsp&#59;&#60;&#63;xml&#58;namespace prefix &#61; o ns &#61; &#34;urn&#58;schemas-microsoft-com&#58;office&#58;office&#34; &#47;&#62;&#60;o&#58;p&#62;&#60;&#47;o&#58;p&#62;&#60;&#47;SPAN&#62;